This blog is created by the fanclub of composer Thaneco. Here we present great albums of Vintage Electronica , Krautrock, Space Rock, and Experimental music.
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Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Popol Vuh - Affenstunde (1970)

Affenstunde is the debut recording by composer and multi-instrumentalist Florian Fricke's Popol Vuh, named for the sacred Mayan text. It was issued on the Liberty label in Germany in 1970 and has been in print, off and on, in Europe, Japan, and even in the United States sporadically since that time. For those completely dislocated by Tangerine Dream's early experiments in sonic terror and dynamics, Affenstunde is somehow akin yet very different. Fricke's synthesizers are more interested in pulse and circularity, not utter dislocation and shock. The music here all seems of a piece, despite the different selection titles and the single percussion piece on the set, "Dream, Pt. 5" -- primitive hand drums run through the middle of the mix. Other than this selection, the entire album would have made a fantastic soundtrack for Andrei Tarkovsky's film Solaris. The sheer momentum of the title cut, which closes the album and integrates spacious electronic soundscapes, ever deepening tonalities, found taped choral vocals whispering in the background, and percussion is one of the most provocative pieces to come from the Krautrock generation. This is an auspicious debut, which holds up wonderfully in the 21st century. (Thom Jurek , "Allmusic.com")
Instruments used: Moog Modular Synthesizer, various percussion.

7 comments:

One of the first albums to make me obsessed with Krautrock / early electronica. Popol Vuh are still among my favorite of the genre. Thanks for posting these, Thaneco.

PS - I've been listening to some of your original music on your other site and really digging it. Since I love the more psychedelic and vintage (haunting Carpenter type stuff) sounds, I was wondering if you could recommend to me two of your releases that I should check out (I'd like to support you buy buying a couple, but I can only afford two). Thanks as always (Efharisto poli)!

sfdoomed, I would recommend: "Cityscapes" and "At The Oracle OF Delphi". You can either buy them from my bandcamp page https://thaneco.bandcamp.com/ or from my discogs page http://www.discogs.com/artist/2131241-Thaneco

Thank you very much for your support. My first albums were not entirely electronic but have their own character. I still have these kind of influences. I also love mysticism and ancient music. These influences always come back in my work. Take care!